Feb. 28, 2007

Final Stats |  Photos from Quarterfinals vs#9 Furman 

North Charleston, S.C. - Top-seeded Western Carolina never trailed, establishing a game-high 25-point halftime lead to defeat No. 9 Furman, 79-56, in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference women's basketball tournament Wednesday afternoon at the North Charleston Coliseum.

With its school-record 22nd victory of the season, WCU advances to Friday's semifinal round to face No. 5 Georgia Southern, which was an 81-64 winner over the fourth-seeded UNC Greensboro Spartans on Thursday morning. Friday's semifinal game is scheduled for Noon.

"I was very proud of our defensive effort in the first half and I felt we executed on the offensive end perhaps the best we have all season long," said SoCon Coach of the Year, Kellie Harper. "Today was a total team effort with everyone contributing for us this afternoon.

Harper added, "With the new format of the tournament, we are going to treat the next couple of days like our Saturday-Monday conference schedule. We will have a light practice to prepare for our next opponent, but most importantly, I want our team to relax and enjoy being at the conference championship.

Western (22-8) had four players in double-figures led by 16 from junior Monique Dawson on 5-of-10 shooting. Fellow All-SoCon selections Lauren Powell and Chevon Keith finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively, with Keith pulling down 15 rebounds to tie her career-high in posting her sixth double-double of the season.

Sophomore Brooke Johnson rounded out Western's double-digit scorers with 14 points, six boards and a pair of blocked shots to move into fifth on the school's single-season blocked shots list.

The Lady Catamounts jumped out to a 17-3 lead midway through the opening 20 minutes and held Furman without a field goal for nearly 7:30 as Furman missed 12 consecutive shots from the floor. WCU ended the half with a 9-0 spurt over the final four minutes for a 40-15 halftime lead. Dawson and Powell combined for 22 of WCU's first half points with 11 each. Furman's 15 points was the lowest by a WCU opponent in the first half this season.

Furman came out of the locker room firing and rattled off a quick 6-0 run to open the half and cut into WCU's lead. The Paladins pulled within 13 points with six minutes left on two of Katie Johnson's 10 points, however, sparked by back-to-back buckets by junior Jessika Johnson, Western responded with a 16-5 run to reassert control of the game. Over the final six minutes, the Lady Catamounts outscored Furman 18-8 for the final 79-56 tally.

Chrissy Phelps scored a game-high 18 points - 16 of which coming in the final half - to lead the Lady Paladins, which finishes its 2006-07 campaign with an 11-20 record. Katie Johnson joined Phelps in double-figures, just missing a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.